1
Soak beans
Cover beans with plenty of water and soak overnight. Drain before cooking.
Soak beans
480:00
Lesotho | Stew
Nyekoe
Basotho bean, sorghum, and pumpkin stew simmered slowly until thick, earthy, and gently sweet.
Country
Lesotho
Region
Southern Africa
Time
630 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Nyekoe is patient mountain food. Soak the beans, simmer the sorghum, and add pumpkin late so it softens without disappearing completely.
What the dish tastes like
Basotho bean, sorghum, and pumpkin stew simmered slowly until thick, earthy, and gently sweet.
When to cook it
Best for Cold-weather family meals, with a medium cooking level and about 630 minutes total.
What to serve alongside it
Papa, moroho, chile relish, or sour milk on the side
Follow the collection
Vegetarian Africa is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. Vegetarian Africa
Regional lane
Lesotho national table. A verified Lesotho dish in the AfroKitchen archive.
Chef watch-outs
- Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
- Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
- Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
- The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
- The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
- Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.
Chef board
Build the table around Nyekoe
Papa, moroho, chile relish, or sour milk on the side
Best route from here
Lesotho national table
Collections to keep cooking
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
5 steps
630 min total
medium
2
Start grains
Combine beans, sorghum, onion, oil, and water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil.
3
Simmer slowly
Reduce heat and simmer until the beans and sorghum are nearly tender, adding water as needed.
Simmer grains
90:00
4
Add pumpkin
Stir in pumpkin and continue cooking until it is soft and the stew is thick.
Cook pumpkin
30:00
5
Season and mash
Season with salt and pepper. Mash a small portion against the pot to make the stew creamy.
Some homes use samp or cracked maize in place of sorghum; pumpkin or potatoes are common additions for sweetness and body.